|
After an April blizzard forced a reschedule, the annual North Dakota Travel Industry Conference took place May 15-17 at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck. Conference attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels with more than 220 attendees.
Keynote speakers included Kristen Brown, Melissa Cherry, Eric Termuende and Robbie Lauf, with attendees networking and learning about leadership, diversity and inclusion, the future of work, development of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, and much more.
The conference concluded with the Governor’s Awards for Travel and Tourism. Lt. Governor Tammy Miller announced the honorees, including: Tricia Miller of North Dakota Tourism, Bismarck receiving the 2023 Sakakawea Award; Teresa Perleberg and Chris Armbrust of the Nome Schoolhouse, Nome receiving the Trailblazer Award; Tammy Meyer of TownePlace Suites, Dickinson receiving the Heritage Award; the National Sunflower Association and North Dakota Tourism recognized with the Amplifier Award; The Lights of West Fargo recognized with the Flint Firestarter Award; and Randy Hatzenbuhler, President of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, recognized with the Legend Award.
|
|
Main Street ND Summit 2023
The Main Street ND Summit provides an opportunity to connect, learn, get inspired and gain insight to build and grow your community for the future.
North Dakota's economy is changing, and attracting skilled workforce is more important than ever. To attract the best and brightest, private and public sectors need to work together to tell the story and show why employees need to call North Dakota home.
The 2023 Main Street ND Summit takes place Oct. 24-25 in Watford City with an event theme of innovative workforce solutions. The summit will feature nationally renowned keynote speakers and hands-on workshops that will provide you with the tools to attract and retain the next generation of North Dakota’s workforce.
CDBG pre-applications to open June 1
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides financial assistance to eligible units of local governments in the form of grants and loans for public facilities, housing rehabilitation and economic development projects. The primary beneficiaries of these projects must be very low and low income individuals. Examples of projects funded by CDBG in the respective emphasis areas are:
- Housing - housing rehabilitation of very low and low income homeowner units and rental units within a particular area.
- Public facilities - water and sewer projects, removal of architectural barriers, fire halls, ambulances, etc.
- Economic development - cities and counties receive funds to loan/grant to businesses which create jobs for low income persons.
|
|
 Join in June 13 for this free online chat with the North Dakota Department of Commerce and Benjamin Winchester, a rural sociologist from the University of Minnesota Extension’s Center for Community Vitality, on discussions around resident recruitment in rural America.
Bringing in new residents is vital to ensure the future of our rural communities. Studies of the motivations and factors related to rural workforce document a “brain gain” whereby people age 30-60 are moving to small towns and rural places since the 1970s, providing a re-invigoration of social, economic and demographic life. This model incorporates research on community development, economic development and tourism. Recruitment of residents is especially important in a tight labor market as it’s no longer sufficient to only show new potential residents the job; they must envision their life there. See how we live in the "middle of everywhere" across rural spaces with these communities as examples:
- Park River
- Beach
- Carrington
- Hillsboro
- Adams County
- Hettinger County
|
|
Thread is latest investment of Kevin O’Leary directed Wonder Fund North Dakota
Wonder Fund North Dakota, a North Dakota Development Fund, Inc. investment program directed by O’Leary Ventures (OLV) has selected Thread as its latest investment. Thread is the leader in enterprise-scale asset maintenance technology for energy and utilities.
“Thread's technology can help energy and utility companies improve their maintenance efficiency, which can lead to cost savings and increased productivity,” North Dakota Department of Commerce Commissioner Josh Teigen said. “This, in turn, can lead to job creation and economic growth in rural communities throughout North Dakota.”
Now more so than ever, innovative approaches to scalable asset maintenance are needed to digitally transform the energy and utility sectors. Uniquely positioned by way of deep industry partnerships, Thread delivers a critical enterprise technology solution for those in the renewable energy sector seeking to streamline asset management strategies, transform critical infrastructure maintenance lifecycles, and build a sustainable future.
|
|
Energy & economic coordination office manager completes leadership program
Tom Oakland recently completed the Leadership Bismarck-Mandan program and was chosen to be the student speaker of the class. He was supported by the Economic Development & Finance (ED&F) team who also attended his graduation. Oakland is the fourth person from ED&F to complete this program.
The Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC created the Leadership Bismarck-Mandan program to strengthen leadership skills, broaden understanding of local issues, connect with community resources and contacts, build mentoring relationships with current leaders, and gain skills and opportunities to serve both community and business as a leader.
|
|
Turtle Mountain Tourism Summit fosters two-nation collaboration
The Turtle Mountain Tourism Summit was held at the International Peace Garden on Thursday, May 4, bringing together tourism stakeholders from North Dakota and Manitoba. Tourism and Marketing Director Sara Otte Coleman presented an industry update, along with Travel Manitoba CEO Colin Ferguson. Also attending from Commerce were Global Marketing Manager Fred Walker and Marketing & Research Manager Heather LeMoine, who provided a breakout research briefing.
Tourism & Marketing welcomes a new Graphic Design Specialist
Amy Steinert started on May 22, 2023 as North Dakota Tourism & Marketing's Graphic Design Specialist. We are excited to welcome Amy to our team. She can be reached at asteinert@nd.gov or 701-328-5336.
Amy graduated from Bismarck State College with a Graphic Design and Website Development degree. A few years later, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Minot State University. Steinert has worked in the creative industry for over fifteen years, starting in a printshop before moving into various design agencies and then Team ND for the last nine years. Amy fights design crimes through creative problem solving and beautiful visuals. Her goal in life is to create good designs for good people.
When Amy isn't fighting design crimes, she's at home with her husband and their 6, 5 and 3 1/2-year-old. She is always looking forward to the summer months to enjoy camping and boating with her family.
|
|
|
Canadian Trade Show 2023 well-represented by North Dakota
Brand USA, Collette Tours and United Airlines came together to create a multi-stop Canadian Trade Show featuring the Great America West states. Tourism representatives from each state were given the opportunity to connect directly with attendees, share information, discuss future travel options and assist with itinerary creation.
Tourism Sales and Services Manager Deanne Cunningham attended the Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary shows. Each trade show had approximately 75-100 people in attendance including a special guest, the U.S. Consul General Holly Waeger Monster, who provided the opening welcome and spent time at each booth.
North Dakota community partners included:
- Visit Fargo-Moorhead
- Visit Greater Grand Forks
- Visit Minot
- Bismarck-Mandan CVB
- Williston CVB
- Dickinson CVB
- Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation
|
 The State of the American Traveler upcoming webinars
The State of the American Traveler is one of nation’s leading sources for data on American leisure travelers. The quarterly research is undertaken by Destination Analysts, a specialist research company focused on travel and tourism. For more than a decade, Miles Partnership has been the sole sponsor of this research, working closely with Destination Analysts in refining the survey questions, running regular webinars and sharing a free research summary of the results.
Quarterly editions of The State of the American Traveler include:
- Technology Edition, June 20, 2023
- Traveler Segments Edition, Aug. 29, 2023
- Destination Management Edition, Nov. 7, 2023
|
|
|
Be More Colorful, an award-winning immersive media and virtual reality video production studio, proudly announces its flagship edtech product, CareerViewXR, has been selected to participate in the State Educational Technology Directors Association's (SETDA) Emerging Partners program for 2023.
CareerViewXR was chosen from a highly competitive pool of over 40 international educational technology startups. It is one of only five to be selected to join the prestigious program, offering a testament to the innovation and potential impact of Be More Colorful's immersive educational technology.
"Being chosen to participate in the SETDA Emerging Partners program is a tremendous honor," said Matt Chaussee, CEO of Be More Colorful. "Being recognized as one of the most innovative startups in edtech is an affirmation of our team’s dedication to creating engaging, immersive learning experiences and an endorsement of the hard work and support we have received from educators, career services professionals, industry leaders, and students from around North Dakota."
|
|
|
|
|
